Category Archives: Continuing Education

Tips for taking one of IAR’s new state-approved interactive webinars

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By Carrie Elliott, Education Manager and Matt Brewer, Systems Administrator

Interactive Webinars

The Illinois Association of REALTORS® is revolutionizing our education programs with an alternative classroom format that promises a new appeal for those students who prefer to complete their education in the convenience of their own home or office environment.

Our new WebEx Training programs offer just that and also provide the student with the interaction of an instructor and virtual classmates who are completing the program at the same time.

The webinar environment is not for everyone, but if you think it is a learning method you would like to explore, please review the tips below to see if this program will work for you!

  1. The IAR Licensing & Training Center WebEx training programs work best when you use Internet Explorer for your Internet browser. Do not use Google Chrome.
  2. It’s important to install the WebEx software and test it at least 24 hours prior to the webinar program. You can use this link to test your computer.
  3. The audio will come from your computer, so you will need a microphone and speakers and TEST them prior to joining the webinar. Still have problems with audio? Check your speaker and microphone cables, check your volume and reboot your computer.
  4. After you register for an IAR WebEx Training you will receive four emails leading up to the class. The confirmation email will include your registration ID. The email you receive on the day of your course will come from Innovative exams. This contains a credit to take a test at one of our Kiosk locations. You MUST create an account at Innovative Exams in order to schedule an exam. Instructions will be provided in the Email.

The IAR Licensing & Training Center is your trusted source for state-approved real estate licensing and continuing education. Licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation since 1992, the IAR Licensing & Training Center is a name you can trust. www.illinoisrealtor.org/education

Q & A on the Illinois Managing Broker License Renewal

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By IAR Education Manager Carrie Elliott and IAR Legal Hotline Attorney Betsy Urbance

Betsy Urbance, Legal Hotline Attorney

Carrie Elliott, Education Manager

By April 30, 2013 Illinois managing broker licensees must have completed the continuing education (CE) requirements and applied to renew their license through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

 What is Required | Questions and Anwers

Q: What if I have too many Core CE hours and not enough Elective?

Your Core hours will count towards Elective CE hours, however elective hours do not count towards your Core requirement. Keep in mind that credit hours for the same course cannot be repeated within the same cycle.

Q: I took CE before the transition deadline last year. Will that count for my renewal?

If you are a broker who has transitioned to managing broker, continuing education completed from 5/1/10 through 4/30/13 will count towards the 4/30/13 renewal.

Q: When is the IDFPR renewal open? It is open now.

Visit https://www.idfpr.com/renewals/RealEstateManagingBroker.asp. You can renew online with a credit card or print a paper copy and mail in your renewal to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, PO Box 7086, 320 West Washington Street, Springfield, IL 62791.

Q: I’m from another state, what do I need to do to be a Managing Broker?

Review IDFPR’s Reciprocity Application for Licensure Under the Real Estate License Act https://www.idfpr.com/DPR/RE/Forms/recip.pdf

Q: I’m a licensed attorney in good standing in the State of Illinois. 

What do I need to do to renew as a managing broker? You will just be required to complete the renewal forms and pay the license renewal fees required by IDFPR. You are EXEMPT from all continuing education including the Broker Management CE.

Q: How can I find out what continuing education hours I already have? 

Use the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Education Lookup: http://www.illinoisrealtor.org/lookup to check your EDUCATION CREDITS for courses taken AND PASSED through the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Licensing and Training Center.

Q: Why can’t I find my CE hours on your website? 

If you took your CE through a provider other than the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Licensing and Training Center or your local association, your CE will not be reflected in IAR’s Education Lookup. You will need to contact the other school directly for your records.

Q: If my license is in a “holding company” do I still need CE?  

Yes. Your “holding company” is your sponsoring broker so you hold an active sponsored real estate license. You are, thus, subject to CE requirements.

Q: I transitioned by taking the 45-hours and took the Broker Management CE by mistake. Can I use any of these hours?

Yes, you can use the Broker Management CE hours as Elective CE hours for your regular CE requirement.

What you need to know about the April 30 Managing Broker license renewal

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Carrie Elliott, Education Manager

By IAR Education Manager Carrie Elliott and IAR Legal Hotline Attorney Betsy Urbance

By April 30, 2013 Illinois managing broker licensees must have completed the continuing education (CE) requirements and applied to renew their license through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

What is Required | Questions and Anwers

What’s Required?

Betsy Urbance, Legal Hotline Attorney

That depends on how you transitioned your broker license last year to the new “managing broker” license or whether you’ve just become a licensed managing broker since May 2011.

1. Transitioned to Managing Broker by completing and passing the Proficiency Exam. In this case you are required to take 12 hours of interactive Broker Management Continuing Education (CE). In addition you must complete 18* hours of regular CE (a minimum of nine Core and nine Elective CE hours) before April 30, 2013. The Core hours should include one Core A and two Core B courses. There is a maximum of nine hours of Elective CE allowed. Note: The interactive component of this CE requirement for Managing Brokers is satisfied by live classroom courses or state-approved live webinars including Broker Management CE Webinars by the Illinois Association of REALTORS® Licensing and Training Center: www.illinoisrealtor.org/bmce

2. Transitioned to Managing Broker by completing the 45-hour Managing Broker Transition Course. In this scenario you do NOT need to take the 12-hour Broker Management CE course. However, 18* hours of regular CE are still required. You will need a minimum of nine Core and nine Elective CE hours before April 30, 2013. The Core hours should include one Core A and two Core B courses. There is a maximum of nine hours of Elective CE allowed.

3. First licensed as a Managing Broker on or after May 1, 2011. You need 12 hours of continuing education credits by April 30, 2013 with a minimum six hours of Core CE (three hours Core A and three hours Core B) and a maximum of six hours Elective CE.

*Your renewal period was effectively three years since you last renewed in April 2010. So this CE requirement is at a rate of six hours per year.

Dec. 31 is the deadline to complete your Ethics training

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Changes to the Code of Ethics took effect this year to help ensure it remains up-to-date as practitioners confront new situations. Here are four highlighted by REALTOR® Magazine:

  1. Authorized use of property. The duty of fidelity to clients’ interests was advanced through a new Standard of Practice interpreting Article 1 as prohibiting members from accessing or using, or permitting others to access or use, listed or managed property on terms or conditions other than those authorized by the owner or seller.
  2. False statements against others. Article 15’s obligation to refrain from knowingly or recklessly making false or misleading statements was expanded to cover “other real estate professionals, their businesses, and their business practices.” These changes are also reflected in Standards of Practice 15-2 and 15-3.
  3. Mediating disputes. The dispute resolution scope of Article 17 was enhanced to include the duty to mediate otherwise-arbitrable disputes in cases where the association of REALTORS® has established a duty to mediate.
  4. Waiving mediation and arbitration. Standard of Practice 17-2 (which interprets and explains Article 17) was amended to make it clear that REALTORS® are not obligated to mediate or arbitrate in cases where all parties to the dispute choose not to have it mediated or arbitrated through the association.

All REALTOR® members must successfully complete a 2.5-hour course in ethics, within given four-year cycles, and continue to update their education in successive four-year periods thereafter. The current cycle ends Dec. 31, 2012. Ethics courses may be available through your local board. Contact your local association for details. REALTORS® can also complete the training online with a free course, courtesy of NAR. Go to REALTOR.org/COETraining.

Reminder: the GRI II course being held November 26-29 in Bloomington counts toward the completion of Code of Ethics requirement. Take GRI Course II with Bruce Aydt’s course “Ethics, Arbitration and You.”

Read more Quick Takes from the October 2012 issue of Illinois REALTOR®.

Learn more about the legal issues of residential leasing at the IAR Fall Conference

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Instructor Lynn Madison

If you are working with residential leasing transactions in today’s real estate market, you’ll want to attend the continuing education session, “Legal Issues: Residential Leasing,” being taught by popular instructor Lynn Madison at the IAR Fall Conference & Expo, Oct. 2-4 in St. Charles.

The course is designed to assist REALTORS® in proper representation of landlords and tenants in residential leasing transactions. Today’s market has created new ‘norms’ and leasing residential property is one of them.

Whether agents do only one lease transaction a year or are doing them as part of a business plan, they need to know the legal and ethical responsibilities of representing landlords and tenants to not only follow the rules and stay out of trouble but to fulfill their duties to their clients.

Lynn Madison is the co-author of the National Association of REALTORS® Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource Specialist and the Broker Price Opinion Resource certifications. She is the 2011 IAR REALTOR® of the Year and a nationally recognized CE instructor.